Ties Of The Past
by Tumblepatch
Summary: Ok, this 1 centers around Electra, as she searches for the parents she has never known! Please Review and be as honest as you like! I DON'T OWN CATS!
1. Chapter 1

A lone kitten walked the streets of London, trying to find shelter from the ever-worsening storm; rain, sleet, and even small amounts of snow. She was a tortoiseshell; an orange and black mix. She didn't have a name, or if she did she didn't know it. She had been wandering the streets for about a week, since she was two months old. The kitten couldn't remember much, only a faint, blurry memory of two cats - her parents.

After another long, five minutes, the kitten finally found somewhere half-way decent to rest. She came upon a Junkyard; not much, a bit dirty and smelly, but at least it had some shelter. Now, had the kitten been more experienced, she might've stopped to sniff the air, and check out the place, but she was young, immature, and above all, exhausted. Looking around once, she stumbled into the Junkyard, found an old cardboard box, and curled up inside. She was asleep almost instantly.

The next thing the kitten knew, there were voices all around her. She opened her eyes, to see four or five cats peering at her. Not for the first time in her life, she became increasingly frightened, but as she was cornered, there wasn't much she could do. She cowered as low as possible, but the cats didn't go away. Instead, one older, cream tabby queen remarked "Oh, my gosh, just _look _how dirty she is! She's probably been roaming the streets for months!"

"Oh, have some consideration, Jelly," said another, younger queen

", you'd look like that if you'd been wandering the streets. Besides, she can't have been stray for too long; she's not even three months yet. _You _of all Jellicles should have known that."

"Still," interrupted yet another older queen ", Jelly's got a point, Kardia. That kitten _does _need a bath; a good wash at the _very _least!"

Suddenly, a large, silver tabby appeared. For a moment or two, he stared at the kitten, then he said, in a loud, calm voice "Right, regardless of whether this kitten needs a bath or not, she must first be taken to Old Deuteronomy. Then, we'll decide what to do with her after that."

"Oh, but Munkustrap," began the cream tabby, but stopped at the look on his face, and after a glare from him, nodded sullenly.

Then, suddenly, a paw reached in, and picked the kitten up (very gently) by the scruff of her neck. The next thing she knew, she was being cradled in the arms of the creamy-white queen who had been called Kardia. The kitten looked up into the big, blue-ish grey eyes, and, for the first time in a long while, felt comfort.

But then, she was moving; or at least, that's what it felt like. Kardia was carrying her, following the silver tabby through the Junkyard, to where an old, _old _cat sat on a disused tyre, talking with a pair of identical twins. The moment they saw the group, the twins leapt off the tyre, and had melted into the shadows before the kitten had time to decide whether they were there or not. Being a kitten, she soon gave it up, and looked up, to see the old cat looking kindly down at her. His appearance, to the kitten, was rather intimidating, and when he stood up, and began walking towards her, she squeaked in fright, and tried to scramble away, but Kardia held her tight, and suddenly, the kitten was being lifted into the old cat's arms, and, carefully and gently, examined.

After a quick examination, the old cat handed her back to Kardia, with instructions that she should first be given a wash, then fed and found somewhere where she could rest. Kardia at once volunteered to look after her.

"If she's still on milk, she can suckle with my two little ones, and if not, then I can still offer her a place to rest."

The cream tabby, who was known as Jellylorum, tried to protest, and help with cleaning up the kitten, but Kardia would have none of it. She just gave Jelly one last, withering look, before leaving, to return to her mate and kittens with her new kit. As she walked to her den, she said to the little kitten "Now then, little one, you must have a name. I know! I will call you Electra, as you have some reddish-ginger on you."

"Did you know," she continued, to the now sleepy kitten ", that Electra was a Goddess. I can't remember whether she was Greek or Roman, but she was definitely a Goddess. So, how's that, my little Electra. You're named after a Goddess. Oh, you're so sweet. And to think, all Jelly would have done was get you cleaned up, then turn her back on you. I promise you, my little Electra, I'll never, _ever _turn my back on you!"

"Well," said Kardia ", we're here!"

Electra peered through half-closed eyes, to see a piece of cloth, hung over a propped up bar, being lifted up, then, a warming sight met her little kitten eyes.

A brown and white mix tom was lying on a sort of homemade bed, curled around two tiny balls of fur, slightly smaller than Electra. The tom looked up, and smiled when he saw Kardia, but then noticed Electra, and frowned slightly, giving his mate a puzzled look. Kardia gave him a plea-ding look, and said "Oh, Bill, I couldn't just have left her. If I'd done that, Jellylorum would've got to her, and you know what she's like. You know how coolly she talks about Etcetera, compared to Victoria, and that little white fur-ball isn't even her own, whereas Etcetera is her flesh and blood. That little kitten's gonna grow up, and find out that her mum loves a stray more than her. And, Heaviside bless Etcetera, that the rest of the Tribe will be there for her."

"Yes," said the tom, nodding ", but what about Veni & Tia? How do you think they're gonna react, huh?"

"Oh, Bill, _please_! She hasn't got anywhere else to go, if we don't take her!"

"What about Jelly? I thought you said-", the tom began, but stopped at the pitiful look on his mate's face. After a brief pause, he sighed, and said "Oh, Ok! As long as you think you can handle it?"

"Of course _we _can!" cried Kardia joyfully. "And I'm sure the girls will _love _her. She'll be a big sister to them!"

The tom got up, slowly so as not to wake the kittens, and padded over to his mate. He had a good look at Electra, and promptly said "Right, first things first: she needs a good bath!"

Kardia nodded, slowly, and took the kitten over to where a small, tin tub sat next to a tap. The tom filled the tub, and Kardia placed Electra care-fully into it. The kitten mewed, and tried to escape from the cold, wet water, but Kardia held her firmly (but gently!), and with Bill's help, managed to give a sufficient rinse to show off her fluffy coat better.

Then Kardia dried the kitten, took her over to the bed, placed her beside the other two balls of fur, and curled up around all three. Bill emptied the tub down a drain, then joined his mate on the bed. Kardia smiled softly at her mate, then curled herself more tightly round her little kittens, as if to protect them from the world, and life.


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't own CATS, Electra or any of the other original characters! I **DO **own Bartoque, Accappella, Venialis, Nextia andKardia, so no nicking them! Hope you enjoy!_

**_Three months later_**

Electra was fast asleep, in her mum's den. She was dreaming, yet again. Only, this time, her dream seemed clearer, more understandable, and she got further into it than before.

_A tiny, ginger and black mix kitten curled up on its mother's lap, listening to the soft sound of water, washing against a wall. They were down at the riverside, along with the kittens' father, a tuxedo tom. The tom strolled down to the river 'shore', then came back a few minutes later with two medium-sized fish. He killed them with one swipe, and placed the larger one in front of his mate, before settling down to eat his. The queen soon finished her fish, and sprawled out to suckle her kitten. Presently, her mate also finished his meal, and watched with pride as the little ball of fur nuzzled up against her mum in ecstasy. Then, he said "Accappella, we still don't have a name for her, and she is already three days old. We can't refer to her as 'kitten' forever, you know!"_

"_I know, Bartoque," whispered the queen ", but, you know, 'the naming of cats is a difficult matter'."_

"_Oh, not that quote again," sighed Bartoque ", you've been contemp-lating about it for three days, and still not come up with anything."_

_The queen gave it some thought. Then, after five minutes silence, she cried, softly "I've got it! The perfect name for her!"_

"_Well?" said Bartoque, expectantly._

"_We'll call her T…"_

"ELECTRA!"

Electra sat bolt upright with a frightened mew, looked around, realised she was in no danger, and flopped back onto the bed, annoyed because she'd been interrupted when, for the first time _ever_, she had come anywhere close to finding out her real name. She went to curl back up, but the voice came again.

"ELECTRA!"

Electra groaned; she recognised that voice. Seconds later, an older, cream queen entered El's mum's den. She was called Jellylorum, and she was El's best friend's mum. Electra hated her. She was old, stiff, and had _no _sense of humour, according to Electra. Plus, she loved an adopted, white female kitten named Victoria, more than she did her own daughter, who knew this and resented her for it.

But, Electra had no more time to think about anything else, for Jelly, getting impatient, strode over, pulled the kitten to her feet, and said in a sharp, sour tone "Come on, girl, get yourself ready! Your mum and I want to see you down by the tyre in two minutes! You got that?"

With that, Jelly flounced off. For a second, Electra just sat there, stunned, and then, she gave a low groan as she remembered, and realised what Jelly had been going on. Today, she and the other eight, five to seven month old kittens were having a hunting lesson, as most of them were strays, and would soon need to be able to find food for themselves. Electra sat up properly, gave herself a quick wash, then jumped off the bed, and slunk outside, where Jelly, her mum and the other five kittens were waiting for her. She could see her sister, Venialis and Victoria, Jelly's adoptive daughter glaring at her, as she went to stand beside Etcetera, Jelly's daughter, and her and Veni's sister, Nextia.

Jelly glared at her for a moment longer, then said to the small group of kittens "Right, now then, today as you all know will be your first hunting lesson, and I want you _all _on your best behaviour!"

With this, she glared at three kittens who had, up until that moment been giggling quite loudly. They were called Mungojerrie, Rumpelteazer and Pouncival, they were two brothers and their sister, and they had been orphaned at birth, a fact which they took surprisingly lightly. Jelly glared at them some more, before clearing her throat and continuing.

"Anyway, I will now split you all up into two groups. One group will go with Kardia to the East of the Junkyard, and the rest will come with me to the North of the Junkyard!"

Jelly began sorting them out. Electra, Nextia and Etcetera moved close together, to try and avoid separation. Jelly put Vicki and Veni in her group, then moved to separate the 'Troublesome Trio'. Mungo and Pounce were put in Kardia's group, but their sister was put in Jelly's group. For a split second, Electra felt almost sorry for her, but then Jelly put her and Etcetera in Kardia's group, and Nextia in her own group, and Electra immediately felt sorry for her sister. But, there was no complaining, for Jelly's word was final. With glum faces, yet thanking their lucky stars that they weren't with Jelly, Electra and Etcetera waved goodbye to Nextia, and followed Kardia out of the Junkyard.


	3. Chapter 3

They walked for about ten minutes, Kardia leading in silence, Mungo and Pounce behind her, giggling, and sometimes breaking out in bursts of laughter, and Electra and Etcetera following, whispering to each other, with their heads down. Suddenly, the group was halted, when a strange tom stepped out on to their path. He was not of the Jellicle Tribe. Kardia stepped back abruptly, and kept the kittens behind her, by putting out her arms. The tom was tall, taller than Kardia's mate, Bill Bailey, and she found herself growing increasingly worried. The two adult cats stared at each other for a moment or two, then Kardia said "Who are you, and what are you doing, trespassing on Jellicle territory?"

She knew she was being bold, and the tom, with his sleek, well-built body, and massive stature, could easily attack her at any time, but instead, he just smiled and said "So, this _is _Jellicle territory. Phew, I was wondering when I was gonna hit it!"

He had a strong accent (Manchester, Kardia suspected), and, now that he was smiling reassuringly, Kardia thought he looked rather handsome. However, she had been messed about by toms like this one before, and so remained her protective stance. When the tom saw she was still unsure, he opened his mouth to introduce himself, but never got the words out, for at that precise moment, there was a ferocious hissing, and a brown and white streak threw itself in front of Kardia. The strange tom took a few, wise steps backwards, as Bill Bailey took up the same protective stance as Kardia, and hissed a warning. The other tom put up his paws in defence, but Bill would have none of it. As far as he was concerned, this tom had been interfering with _his _mate, and he was determined to protect her. It was only when Kardia laid a paw on his shoulder, that he ceased hissing, and, standing as tall as he could (which didn't make much difference!), he said to the tom, "So, who are you, _stranger_, and what are you doing on Jellicle territory?"

He had hoped that, by putting emphasis on 'stranger', the tom might take a hint, and back down even more, but he did just the opposite. Instead, he ruffled his fluffy mane, and said, proudly, in his Manchester accent "Well, I'm actually looking to be a Jellicle, so it appears I've come to the right place! And as for introducing myself, I'm Rum Tum Tugger. But, you can call me Tugger," he added, with a wink in Kardia's direction. Bill Bailey growled a warning, but Tugger took no notice; he was busy grinning, and winking, at each of the kittens in turn.

Nobody could've predicted what happened next. One moment, the group were standing there, each of the adults thinking of his or her next move, the next, two huge Pollicle dogs came crashing through an old window pane, one knocking Tugger off his feet, the other going for Bill, Kardia, and the group of kittens. Kardia, and the two female kittens screamed, and Kardia began ushering the kittens back with extreme haste. Bill tried to fend off the Pollicle, but finding himself up against a snarling Alsatian, was weakened through remembrance of a past experience, and was soon thrown to one side. The Pollicle turned its ugly, snarling face towards the group, and Kardia realised that they were done for. She was just cowering over the kittens, praying it would be quick, when there was an almighty yowl, and a streak of black and brown fur leapt at the dog, closely followed by a black and white, then a red and white streak. Looking up, Kardia and the kittens saw the brute being forced back by Tugger, and two other toms who she didn't recognise. Looking around for the other dog, all she saw was a grey and white tom, another stranger, pulling Bill to his feet. Suddenly, the small area where they were seemed to be alive with cats. Kardia briefly saw Munkustrap and another tom rush past her to help fight off the Alsatian, and then, suddenly, she felt a paw on her shoulder; turning round she met the eyes of Jelly, Jenny, and two other Jellicle queens: Bombalurina, a red queen, and Cassandra, a dark brown, elegant half-Siamese. She stared at them for a second, numb with relief, before hearing a desperate mewing at her feet.

Looking down, she saw four little, scared kittens staring back at her. Smiling comfortingly, she picked up Electra, in one arm, and Etcetera, in the other, while the two little toms ran to Bombalurina, who currently looked after them and their sister. Jelly came forward for Etcetera, but Kardia, who was reluctant to let go of the little thing, turned from the old queen, and went to her mate, who now glaring, rather unnecessarily, at Tugger and his group of friends. Kardia gave them all the once over, and decided that Tugger was still the best looking, though the black and white one, she thought, _was _kinda cute.

Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by Munkustrap, and the other Jellicle tom, an older, red tabby called Skimbleshanks, walking forward and surveying the rather relaxed-looking bunch. Kardia was unsure of what Munk's reaction would be, for she knew he could be harsh, but when he spoke, his voice wasn't stand-offish, more welcoming.

"So," he said ", who are you, and what business do you have with the Jellicles?"

It was Tugger (not surprisingly, Kardia thought) who spoke up.

"Well," he said, a pleasant smile on his face ", me 'n' my friends have been looking for a Tribe that will accept us. The few others we tried turned us down because we are believed to be vagabonds, rogues, if you like. But, honestly and truthfully, we're not. We're just lookin' for a Tribe to settle into."

His voice, as he ended his speech, had taken on an almost pleading tone. Munk considered it for a second, then said "Ok, fair enough you've told us your business, but what about your names? I've not heard them yet!"

Tugger grinned sheepishly, and said, "Oh, yeah, sorry. I almost forgot. I'm Tugger. Rum Tum Tugger. And this," he pointed to the black and white tom, "is Alonzo, this," pointing to the red and white, "is Plato. And, finally, this," indicating the grey and white tom, "is Admetus. Boys, say 'hello'!"

Each of the strays inclined his head to Munk, and Tugger said "So, um, may we see your leader?"

Munk thought for a second, then nodded and said "Follow me."

Tugger grinned at the silver tabby, and motioned for the other toms to follow. They followed Munk past the queens and the kittens, Tugger winking at them as passed, and flashing Kardia a particularly toothy grin. She blushed, and cuddled the kittens closer. From behind her, Bill Bailey growled, low in his throat, but Kardia just ignored him. If there was one thing she couldn't stand it was jealousy, especially from her own mate. However, he had _tried _to help, and she remembered it. Turning to him, she smiled softly and nuzzled him, to let him know that he was still loved. Soon, they were walking back, behind the other cats, Kardia still holding Electra, and Etcetera, who she'd not yet given back to her mum.

Bill Bailey offered to carry one of the kits, and Kardia gladly (for her arms were aching) handed over Etcetera for him to carry. When they reached the Junkyard, Munk left the four strangers waiting by the old, tractor tyre that was the 'throne' of the Junkyard, while he went to fetch Old Deuteronomy. Kardia reluctantly had to let Bill hand Etcetera back to her mum, who didn't carry her back to their den, but set her down almost at once, took her paw with an air of one who doesn't care, and pulled her away from the four strange toms. Kardia sadly watched her go, then, remembering her own kittens, went with Bill back to their den. There, they found Exotica, Cassandra's sister, looking after Veni and Tia. Kardia thanked her, and hugged all three of the kittens at her feet. Then, she and Bill went over to the bed, placed the kittens on it, and curled up around them, exhausted.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days later, Tugger and his friends were officially settled into the Tribe. Electra, Etcetera and Nextia were playing catch with an old ball, a little way away from the tyre, when Tugger and the black and white tom Alonzo came over to them. Etcetera turned to stare at them; she was so distracted that, when Tia threw the ball to her, she hardly noticed it bounce off her. Tia sighed exasperatedly, but Electra thought Etcetera had a point. The cream tabby kitten was staring intently at Tugger, and as El stared at him as well, she could see what her friend's point was. She thought he was incredibly handsome, and Etcetera clearly thought so too. But Nextia just rolled her eyes, took the ball and scampered off to find someone else to play with.

As he drew nearer, Tugger noticed the kittens' dreamy look, and, fluffing up his mane, 'swaggered' the last few steps. Etcetera practically fainted! Now, Electra thought, she was going over the top, but Tugger didn't appear to mind; clearly he was used to a lot of attention. And with that mane, Electra could see why! As he approached, Tugger turned to Alonzo and said "Hey, buzz off, why don't ya? I don't want ya stealin' my limelight! Go on, go find Plato or Admetus."

Alonzo looked a bit put out, but as he was clearly the younger of the two, and used to being bossed around, he nodded sullenly, and walked off. With a satisfied smirk, Tugger turned to the two kittens, who were staring up at him, bright-eyed and eager. Grinning more, Tugger strutted past them, only taking his eyes off them to climb up onto an old drainage pipe. Once he was settled, he beckoned the kittens to him. Both jumped up immediately, but before they could take step towards him, a shriek pierced the air; a very, _very _angry shriek.

"_Etcetera!_"

The two kittens jumped, and whirled round, to see Jellylorum marching towards them, her face thunderous! Behind them, on the pipe, Tugger stood up, as if readying himself to run. Jelly came storming up to them, gave El and Tugger a look of ultimate disgust, then grabbed Etcetera's paw, and pulled her away from the two other cats, muttering something about her being a disgrace, mixing with riffraff, and something about how _perfect _Victoria was.

El scowled after her, but then turned her attention to Tugger, who was once again sitting down, on the old pipe. Once more he beckoned to her, and this time, she came to him uninterrupted. Reaching down, he lifted the kitten up, and sat her on his knee, and said "So, little kitty, what's your name?"

His tone of voice was pleasant, and the look he was giving her was kindly. Electra said "My name's Electra."

"Well, Electra, how old are you?"

This question might've puzzled Electra. But, all she could think of was how good-looking he was, and any suspicions she might've had were squashed. She replied "I'm six months, nearly seven. How old are you?"

Just as soon she'd said it, she remembered what Jelly had said about asking adults their age, and said "Er, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to off-"

"Hey, think nothing' of it," Tugger replied, laughing ", I don't get offended that easily. I'm two. Years, that is."

"Golly," Electra mewed ", I s'pose that's pretty old."

"Hey, now, I'm not ancient you know," Tugger chuckled. Electra grinned, and snuggled down on his lap, but before she could get comfortable, yet another piercing scream knifed through the air. El sat up, puzzled and startled, but the next second Tugger was setting her down on the ground and pulling her into the shadows as fast as he could. Electra didn't know what the maned tom was doing, dodging about, and appearing to be running from something. A moment later, the kitten found out what.


	5. Chapter 5

As Tugger pulled her round a corner, a human stepped across their path, a net in his hands. Tugger pulled Electra away from him, only to find their way blocked by another human. With a menacing _swish, _the net swooped down on their heads. Tugger hissed, and tried to get Electra away from the net, but her hind paw caught on a stone, and she was pulled over, losing hold of the tom's paw. A second later, the human brought the net holding the kitten up to his level, grasped Electra by the scruff of her neck, lifted her out, and dumped her into a cage.

The kitten mewed desperately for Tugger, but he was sprinting back for help as fast as he could. Electra mewed again, then squealed with fright when, with a sudden lurch that pitched her sideways, the human lifted the basket up, and placed it in a vehicle. Then, the doors were closed with a slam, and the next thing Electra knew, she was moving, being transported to an unknown place, that she had been told of, and feared.

Tugger raced back into the Junkyard, smelt that there were still humans around, and hid under an old bed. About ten minutes later, when he heard a yell of '_All clear_!', he dashed out from under the bed, and proceeded to the main area of the Junkyard, where the cats were slowly coming out of hiding. The lion-cat noticed Munkustrap standing in the middle of the Junkyard, watching the cats come into the open, and strode over to him. The silver tabby turned his attention to Tugger, when the lion-like tom reached him, and Tugger said "Anyone missing, that you know of?"

"Yes," replied Munk, frowning ", I saw the humans take Etcetera, Pouncival, and Kardia's youngest, Nextia. How about you?"

"Yeah. I tried to get Electra away from the humans, but she fell over, and they got her. I rushed back here, but I expect they've already taken her to the pound."

Munkustrap gave him a despairing look, but then Jelly, Jenny and Alonzo came up to them and gave Munk more bad news: Victoria, Mungo and Rumpel, and Cassandra had also been taken, and Plato had gone missing. The sleek tom immediately vanished from the Junkyard to look for his friend, but the rest of the cats just had to wait, and hope that the captured Jellicles would soon return to them.

Electra, curled up in the corner of her cage, had at first been frozen with fear, but now, as she began to get used the swaying motion of the vehicle, she realised that she was not alone. She guessed that there were probably other cages around her, and that most probably held other Jellicles. Hesit-ating only for a second, Electra mewed into the darkness, and her heart jumped for joy when another kitten answered, for she recognised the mew as Etcetera's. Seconds later, three more cats answered her; Nextia, Pounce and Vicki. El mewed again, and more cats answered. Through a series of miaows, Electra found out that Cassie, Mungo, Rumpel and Plato had also been caught. But it did not trouble her; at least now she had someone to talk to.

About five minutes later, the van came to juddering halt. The cages were then lifted out of the van, and carried into a rather dismal-looking building. Electra mewed pitifully when she saw the outside, but that was nothing compared to the interior of the building. When Electra's cage was carried inside, she mewed even louder, and huddled, depressed, in the corner of her cage, but no matter what she did, the scene did not disappear; two dozen cages, all lined up, and nearly all of them containing a howling, barking or whimpering dog.

Behind her, Electra heard Plato hissing, and Etcetera and Nextia crying. As she passed a cage near the end, a vicious-looking Alsatian jumped at the wire, snarling, and snapping its large, shiny fangs. Electra hissed at it for all it was worth, but before she could finish her hissing, the human opened a door, and carried her cage. Through this room, the sight was even worse. There were cages, as before, but they were smaller, and, this time, held cats. Cats of all ages, sizes and breeds miaowed at the kitten, while scratching at the wire mesh of their pens, desperate to get out. Electra shrunk down even lower, wishing she were back in the Junkyard. She was so preoccupied in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the human placing the cage down and lifting the lid up. Before she could protest, the human had her by the scruff of the neck, and was lifting her out, placing her in a cage and locking the door.

Once El had gotten over her shock, she scrambled to her feet and ran to the front of her cage, where she could just see Etcetera and Tia being lifted from their carrier and placed in the same cage. _'Lucky gits!' _thought El jealously, but she didn't have much time to contemplate. A human was coming over to her cage - holding Rumpel! Although the trouble-maker wasn't El's first choice of pen-mate, at least now she would have someone to talk to. However, when Rumpel had been dumped in the pen, and the door had been closed again, she just pouted at Electra, before saying, huffily "Oh, great, I had ta ge' stuck with you, didn'a I! Electra, the poor li'l orphan dreamer!"

Electra just stopped a hiss escaping her lips, before saying, as calmly as she could "Yeah, well you weren't my first choice either, Rumpel, but-"

"Don' call me 'Rumpel'," snapped the other kitten, rather fiercely ",i's 'Rumpelteazer' ta _you_!"

Electra drew back, hurt, but soon gave it up; it was obvious that Rumpelteazer wasn't going to talk to her. Sighing, the tortie kitten slunk to the back of the pen, and curled up in the corner, hoping against hope that a human would come and take her very soon.

Three days later, Electra still didn't have her wish. The only cats to have been given homes were Mungo, Rumpel, Vicki and Cassie. El was sitting alone in her cage, when the door opened…

…and a human placed a very subdued-looking Tugger into her cage! El just stopped a squeal escaping her lips; she figured the humans might get suspicious. From the other side of the row of cages, Electra could just see Etcetera, pressed to the wire mesh, a look of ultimate jealousy on her face.

Ignoring her friend, El turned to Tugger, who was still looking upset about something. Slowly, the kitten moved towards him, paw out-stretched, only to be rebuked by a hiss. She considered trying again, but decided against it. She was very concerned about him, just sitting there, staring at nothing, but as she was about to ask him what was wrong, he sighed, stood up and slunk into the far corner of the pen, where he lay down with his back to her.

Electra stared sadly at him for a moment or two, her head buzzing. "_Why is he so upset? What's happened?_"

Little did she know how soon these questions would be answered…


End file.
